Penguin General's Viking imprint will publish Downfall: The Eight Forces that End Civilisations by Luke Kemp.
In Downfall, Kemp will explore humankind's deep past to help readers understand the fundamental forces at play in the downfall of societies, and discern lessons for our uncertain future. He will conduct a wide-ranging historical autopsy using the ‘Rise and Fall Database’, a unique research asset which provides an estimate of over 400 societal lifespans over the past five millennia, from Susa II in 3,800 BCE to the modern-day United Kingdom.